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"Suppose a million people in the U.S. were afflicted with some mysterious infection about which many victims did not complain, but which caused considerable suffering in others and, while only a small percentage died, that was affecting a steadily increasing number of people.  Would we not consider that an epidemic…?" [Persuasive Techniques in Contemporary Cults: A Public Health Approach, Louis J. West, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, UCLA Medical School]

To what health problem does the above quotation refer?  According to psychologist Dr. Paul Martin, an estimated 185,000 Americans join a destructive cult each year.  Of those 185,000, at least 25% will suffer enduring irreversible harm to themselves and their families. Dr. Martin has shown that abusive and controlling relationships in groups and one-on-one situations are a common mental health problem.  Unfortunately, the general public receives very little information regarding identifying and avoiding destructive relationships. How do these groups or individuals recruit?  Listed here are some of the common introductory approaches. Would you like to: 

• Explore paths to a deeper spirituality?
• Attend a seminar for personal growth?
• Go on a date?
• Help elect a candidate who has a new approach to politics?
• Start a business with the help of a dynamic organization?
• Attend a bible study?
• Help to rid the world of hunger?
• Receive a free meal and help promote world peace?
• Attend a retreat for self-realization?
• Increase your effectiveness in your career?

The group’s initial goal is to gain your open-minded acceptance long enough for you to attend several meetings, Bible studies, seminars, or retreats.  Once you are there, you may be subjected to many extremely subtle mind control techniques.  The techniques themselves may be disguised as seemingly innocent activities; for example, long periods of praying or chanting, rituals, games, confessions, or they may just be part of a lecture (usually long) by a leader skilled in manipulation.

“My own observations, and those of colleagues whose judgement I respect, have led me to believe that no single personality profile characterizes  those who join cults.”  -Louis J. West, M.D.

 Common Myths About Cults and Abusive Relationships

Myth:  People are typically introduced to cults by strangers.

Reality:  According to research done by Dr. Martin, fully two-thirds of the people recruited into manipulative groups were introduced to the group by someone they knew. Healthy suspicions about a group's motives are often ignored because the introduction comes from a trusted friend or relative.

Myth:  A cult can be recognized immediately because it's weird or controlling.

Reality:  The agenda of a cult or manipulative person is often deliberately hidden in order to gain your confidence and compliance.  Suppose that on a first date your companion is verbally abusive or overly demanding.  You'd probably decide, quite quickly, that this is the last date.  But what if the abusive behavior emerges six months or a year into the relationship?  Would you make the same decision?  Would you make it as quickly?  Or would you make it at all? Just as individuals can charm you in order to cultivate your interest, cults can manufacture an appealing facade in order to captivate you.  Many cults have mainstream doctrines and beliefs, but still use mind control techniques to recruit and retain followers.  Overt manipulation and abusive behavior typically emerge only after you have invested a significant amount of time and emotion in the group.  This delayed revelation of a group's true nature makes it harder to leave.

Historically, cults that have drawn the most media attention espouse beliefs that are foreign to American culture. Conversely, a large percentage of cults in the U.S. have Bible-based beliefs and do little to call attention to themselves in the media. The trappings of a foreign culture may be easier to identify, but both types of cults can be equally destructive because of the coercive techniques they use.

Myth:  Cults only recruit college students and young people.

Reality:  While cults actively recruit energetic young people on nearly every college campus in the U.S., they are increasingly targeting people of all ages, including senior citizens.  Middle-aged converts are prized because of their significant earning capacity and credit lines.  Retirees are attractive because of their savings and pensions.

Myth:  Cults are only religious in nature.

Reality:  Even if you have no interest in religion, you must still be watchful, because there are cults that appeal to every conceivable subject and interest: Business; Therapy/Awareness/Human Potential; Drug/Alcohol Rehabilitation; UFOs; Militias; Terrorism; Racial Supremecy; Environmentalism, and even Politics.  The common thread among these groups is the manipulative and abusive techniques used to recruit and retain followers.

Myth:  Only sick people from troubled families join cults.

Reality:  According to Dr. West:  "My own observations, and those of colleagues whose judgements I respect, have led me to believe that no single personality profile characterizes those who join cults.  Many well-adjusted, high-achieving persons from intact families have been successfully recruited by cults.  So have individuals with varying degrees of psychological impairment."

Myth:  Cults are always comprised of a group of people.

Reality:  You don't need a mob to have a cult.  A cultic or psychologically manipulative relationship can consist of just two people. The abuser in a one-on-one relationship often uses the same manipulative psychological techniques that cult groups employ to maintain control of their members. Similarly, victims of battered woman syndrome often share the same type of impairment that cult members exhibit.

 How does cultic manipulation work?

Manipulative groups and individuals use many techniques to bring people under their control. Whether used intentionally or unintentionally, combining these techniques serves to weave a powerful web of deception and control.  Due to space limitations, we will illustrate just one control technique:  Isolation.

Imagine you lived in a windowless room without a clock and were unable to see outside.  People you liked and trusted would turn the lights on and off and tell you whether it was night or day.  Now, if they changed the schedule by a few minutes each day, you could gradually be manipulated into believing that day is night and night is day.  Your perception of reality would be inaccurate because you were lied to and isolated from outside information.

Could such isolation occur in the real world without your knowledge or consent?  It can and it does.  How? One method many cults employ is to teach new members to aggressively proselytize all their friends, relatives, and neighbors. The goal is either to recruit these "outsiders" into the group or to offend them so that they no longer wish to have any contact with the cult member. If a cult member is then confronted with evidence that he no longer has any friends outside the group, he can honestly reply (in the limited, manipulated sense described above): "That's not true.  My group encourages me to talk with my family and friends."  Many cults ultimately forbid contact with anyone outside the group unless it is to recruit or to fund-raise. In high control one-on-one relationships, the abuser will often say, "I love you so much I don't want you to spend time with your friends or family. Spend it all with me." Isolation is just one of the many psychological tools used by manipulative groups and individuals.

Cults: the harm, prevention and cure.

Many ask, “What is the harm done if someone wants to join a high-demand group?  Cult Information Services of Northeast Ohio (CISNEO) maintains that everyone has the right to make an informed decision when joining a group.  Many of these groups are deceptive in their recruiting practices by misrepresenting the level of commitment that will be required of the individual, including time and financial commitments, how members are disciplined, and the degree of control that the group wishes to exert over their members.  Cult members are often the victims of psychological manipulation that robs them of their ability to make decisions and creates long-standing emotional disturbance in their lives.  Many students are persuaded to abandon their studies and career aspirations to devote more time to the group’s goals.  Financial and sexual exploitation is not uncommon. Many families are separated as a result of a cult’s exploitation of their loved ones.

While creating havoc among the families of their victims, cults also present a threat to our democratic institutions.  Any fanatical group of people that gives its unquestioned obedience and resources to their leader can become a potent force against reason and democracy.  The level of danger could be ultimate, when one considers that the Nazi Party used the same techniques of recruitment, control, and manipulation that are used by modern day cults. 

Cults: Prevention. What can you do to prevent cults from harming your family or friends?

• Arrange for your school, university, church, or synagogue to conduct a program on cults.
   
• Donate books on destructive cults to your local library.
   
• Inform yourself regarding any "training" program or retreat offered by your employer.
   
• When making inquiries regarding a program, do not limit your sources of information to current advocates of the program. Beware of celebrity endorsements which may provide a respectable face for high control groups.
   
• Understand that an ounce of prevention (in this case, education about cults and their tactics) is worth more than a pound of cure.

Cults: The Cure. What can you do if a family member or friend becomes involved in a destructive group or relationship?

•  Remember, everyone has the right to his or her own beliefs, no matter how  weird or distasteful you consider them.  This is the foundation of our First Amendment rights.  However, one must make the distinction between protected beliefs and the unethical, immoral, and sometimes illegal practices of these groups.
   
• Understand that through the use of powerful, psychologically manipulative techniques any adult can be robbed of his or her free will. Too many families make the mistake of saying, "He is an adult. He has made his choice.", when, in fact, their loved one's capacity for reasoned choice has been taken from him.
   

• Educate yourself on the subject of cults and mind control.  Read books (a partial list appears at right) and talk to other families that have dealt with this problem. Be sure that your objections to the group are based on the fact that your loved one is being manipulated and exploited, not that he or she has embraced a set of  beliefs that you find objectionable.  Do not hire a consultant to help with your problem until you thoroughly understand it yourself.
   

• Take heart.  Understand that the influence of love and family can never be permanently erased by any technique.  Do not feel that you are alone.  As we have tried to illustrate, this is a common problem faced by thousands of families.  There are families who have successfully defeated a cult's influence over their loved ones, and they are ready to share their knowledge and support with your family.  You will find it essential to establish and maintain an association with an organized group of families with similar problems.

We recommend the following educational resources:

• Cults in Our Midst: The Hidden Menace in Our Everyday Lives by Margaret Singer, 1995, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Press
• Exit Counseling: A Family Intervention by Carol Giambalvo. Available from the American Family Foundation
• Coping with Cult Involvement: A Handbook for Families and Friends by Livia Bardin, M.S.W.
• Combating Cult Mind Control by Steve Hassan, 1988 Park Street Press
• Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism by Robert J. Lifton, 1961, New York, W.W. Norton & Co.
• Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini, New York, Wm. Morrow & Co.

 Bible-Based Groups: 

• The Discipling Dilemma by Flavil R. Yeakley, 1988, Nashville, Gospel Advocate Co.
• Twisted Scriptures by Mary Alice Chrnalogar, 1997, Chattanooga, TN, Control Techniques, Inc.
• Churches That Abuse by Ronald Enroth, 1992, Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan